Although 20 points doesn’t seem like much, it can mean a lot when it comes to your credit score. You wouldn’t know it from the consumer side, but there is a world of difference between a credit score of 580 and 600. Your options open up when you increase your credit score by 20 points, and they close up when your credit score decreases — find out how to increase your score by 20 points.

Aiming for a perfect credit score might seem like you’re trying to attain the unattainable, but hitting the coveted 850 FICO score isn’t impossible. A dedicated few find a way to obtain it by taking such steps as acquiring and maintaining good financial behaviors, monitoring their credit, and using only a small percentage of their available credit each month.

The Strategy — the more credit accounts you have, the higher your available credit and the lower your credit utilization ratio. So when someone offers you the opportunity to apply for a store or credit card, always answer — “Yes, please!”

Fixing your credit score can be very stressful at times and it feels like it’s never ending where the bills keep piling in and it seems like you’re making no progress. While most people tend to just give up and declare Bankruptcy, there are many ways you can fix your credit score and start off where you started when you first grabbed your first Credit Card.

Where to get Your Real Free FICO Credit Score — consumers can get their first truly free credit score if they’re credit-card holders at First National Bank of Omaha or Barclaycard, two of the 10 largest issuers of credit cards in the U.S.